According to Ansar Khan of Mlive.com, Lidstrom was second in scoring to Anaheim’s Lubomir Visnovsky among NHL defensemen with 62 points (16 goals, 46 assists) and posted a -2 plus/minus rating for the first time in his 19 year career.
“It never gets old,” Lidstrom said. “It’s something I’ll always appreciate. Winning the first one was special. Being the first European to win it was special. This one is special because of my age.
“Still being able to play at a high level at my age is something I take a lot of pride in. The game is faster, players seem to be younger and younger. That makes it harder.”
Lidstrom was also up for the Lady Byng Trophy which recognizes the leagues most gentlemanly player. However Tampa’s Martin St. Louis (or Saint Lewis if you’re the NHL) ended up taking home the honor.
Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk was up for his fourth consecutive Selke (best defensive forward) but couldn’t beat out Vancouver’s Ryan Kesler who is also a Livonia Michigan native.
It still amazes me though that after 19 years in the NHL Lidstrom’s name still gets screwed up. You would also think that of all places, Lidstrom’s name would be properly pronounced at the NHL Awards ceremony, especially when being nominated for such a prestigious award like the Norris Trophy. I guess you can’t be too surprised though since the league is run by Rick Moranis’ character from Space Balls.
Source: Mlive.com, CBC